Two Canadian Pension Funds Renew Offer for Loral Space

Gillian Tan and Dana Mattioli broke the news that Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Public Sector Pension Investment Board have rekindled buyout talks with Loral Space & Communications Inc. Together with their majority stake in Telesat and including debt, Loral has an enterprise value of about $7 billion, according to sources.

A consortium comprising a pair of Canadian pension funds has made a renewed offer for Loral Space & Communications Inc., reviving buyout talks that had cooled earlier this year, people familiar with the matter said.

The suitors, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Public Sector Pension Investment Board, recently approached Loral again about a deal, the people said. PSP already has a stake in the company.

The talks for a takeover of Loral, whose crown jewel is a majority stake in satellite operator Telesat Holdings Inc., have been on and off for a while and could cool again, they cautioned.

Loral currently has a market capitalization of more than $1.5 billion, with a share price trading at $72.30 as of Tuesday afternoon. Together with Telesat and including debt, the company has a so-called enterprise value of about $7 billion, one of the people said.

Loral said in an August filing that, after exploring strategic transactions, “we received nonbinding indications of interest for the acquisition of Loral, but we, the potential acquirer with the highest bid, and PSP have not been able to reach an agreement on the terms of a definitive transaction.” Loral added that it was continuing to explore ways to strike a deal with PSP and the potential acquirer, which it didn’t name.

Highland Capital Management LP, one of Loral’s largest shareholders, said in a filing in August that there should be no urgency to sell the company unless a substantial premium to its share price is offered.

Write to Gillian Tan at gillian.tan@wsj.com and Dana Mattioli at dana.mattioli@wsj.com

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